Well I have only recieved one issue of each so far . And I like both of them .Fly tyer seems to lean more towards the purist. In thier summer issue they showed some bass flies and I was dissapointed by the flies they had . All the trout and salmon flies were nice but I only tie to throw not for show . Hatches to me is the best since they do it all they had nice bass and saltwater flies in it and also alot of the fancy art flies . If I had to chose one from what I seen so far from both magazines I would lean towards Hatches for the type of fly fishing I do . All in all you will learn from both magazines there is plenty of how to articles in each

I have enjoyed every fishing magazine I've subscribed to and I think I've subscribed to most over the years. I remember canceling my subscription to Flyfisherman back in the late 80s because it seemed to me to be too western. Back then I also subscribed to a now defunct magazine known as Flyfishing bc it seemed too focused on Alaska. Since then, I have traveled more and discovered saltwater fly fishing and I now subscribe to some saltwater rags. I like Gray's Sporting Journal but it covers general fishing and hunting (Justfish: Gray's is definitely "cheese eating"). I'll second the positive reports on American Angler. Rod and Reel has had some good stuff too. Check some out at your local newstand and see what you like.